Protective cover for human limb joints

ABSTRACT

A removable protective cover to be fitted on the limb joints, such as the elbow and the heel of a patient. It forms a generally &#34;L&#34; shape interior with one portion fitted over the fore arm and a portion over the upper arm. It is made of lambskin, having the leather or skin side out receiving the abrasive action from the bed (or chair), in which the patient is confined, and the wool side in, in contact with the wearer&#39;s skin. It is secured in position by quick-detachable straps that can be easily manipulated by a semi-invalid. It is made in different sizes, for adults and children, and can be used on the heel as well as the elbow.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention lies in the field of caring for patients who arebed-ridden, or spend considerable time in bed, including those that areconfined to wheel chairs, or otherwise confined. The patient beingconfined, for example in bed, develops sores by contact, as in rubbing,with the bed clothes and these occur most often on the limb joints, asthe elbows and the heels. These sores develop from rubbing action orabrasive action with the bed clothes, as distinguished from mere achesand pains from immobility. These sores may develop not only from bedclothes, but from other sources, such as in wheel chairs, where theelbows or heels may rest on or rub against the elements of the wheelchair, with consequent similar sores on the joints. Heretofore there hadbeen various means and methods developed for counteracting or preventingsuch sores, but none of them have been entirely satisfactory, and infact most of them have been greatly lacking in the effect desired.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION

A broad object of the invention is to provide a novel protector forhuman limb joints, such as the elbow and the heel, for use by a patientwho spends considerable time in bed, or in a chair (e.g. wheel chair),having the following features and advantages:

1. It completely covers the elbow, or heel, and effectively protects theskin of the wearer from sores often acquired by patients.

2. It is made of natural lambskin, having both the leather and the wool,with the wool disposed inwardly and the leather outwardly; the woolpresents a cushion effect and comfortable feeling to the wearer, andwarm feeling in winter and cool feeling in summer, and the leatherreceives the abrasive action from the bed or chair.

3. The leather is very pliable, facilitating fitting of the cover to thepatient's limb and adapting to movements of the body of the wearer.

4. It is easily applied to and removed from the elbow or the heel, bythe wearer, thereby facilitating such by a semi-invalid.

5. Its design and construction facilitates making it in different sizes,for adults and for children, and for the elbow and for the heel.

.Iadd.6. Its design and construction renders it more pliable, to betterfit the elbow or heel.

7. Its design and construction renders a single and same articleespecially adaptable to application to either the elbow or the heel.

DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT In the drawings

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic sketch of a person wearing the device of theinvention on his elbow;

FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic sketch of the device on the wearer's heel;

FIG. 3 is a side view of the protective cover;

FIG. 4 is an end view from the left end of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is an end view from the right end of FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a view of the device, oriented according to FIG. 3, as appliedto the wearer's elbow;

FIG. 7 is a view from the left of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a view of the protective cover in opened-out position,oriented in the direction of FIG. 7; and

FIG. 9 is a sectional view taken at line 9--9 of FIG. 4.

In referring to the overall objectives of the device of the invention,and as referred to above, the device may be worn by the patient on theelbow or on the heel. For convenience, the elbow and the heel arereferred to generically as joints in the human limbs, i.e. the arms andlegs, and in either case the joint is referred to as including membersdisposed transversely relative to each other; for example in the case ofthe elbow, the members are the fore arm and the upper arm, and in thecase of the heel, the members are the foot and the ankle.

Referring in detail to the drawings, FIG. 1 shows the protective deviceof the invention applied to the elbow of the wearer, and FIG. 2 shows itapplied to the heel. Referring particularly to FIGS. 3-5, the protective.[.covering.]. .Iadd.cover .Iaddend.12 is made up of two main pieces, afirst piece 14 and a second piece 16. The piece 14 is the larger of thetwo, preferably of U-shape, having parallel legs 18, interconnectingwhich is a curved portion or bight 20. The second piece 16 extendstransversely between the legs of the first piece, at .[.one.]. .Iadd.afirst .Iaddend.end of the latter, filling the space formed by theU-shape, and the two pieces are stitched together along a continuousseam 22. The overall shape of the cover as viewed in side view, may begenerally rectangular. Securing means 24 is provided on the piece 14adjacent .Iadd.a second end, that is, .Iaddend.the end opposite thesecond piece 16 and includes preferably a type generally known as"Velcro", there being two units, each made up of a first or backingstrip 26, in this case sewed directly to the corresponding side or leg18 on the piece 14, and a strap 28 secured to the opposite leg 18. Thestraps 28 are thrown over the open side of the U-shaped first piece andfitted in face-to-face contact engagement with the strips 26 and areheld there securely in normal usage. This type of securing means isknown, and one of the pieces, such as the strips 26 have tentaclesacting as "hooks" which engage and grab elements of the straps. Thiskind of securing means is of particular convenience for use bysemi-invalids, because it is easy to manipulate, both to engage orsecure, and disengage or separate. Those acts can be done easily withone hand and in most cases the patients can apply the cover themselvesand need not be helped by attendants.

The protective cover 12 is made of natural lambskin. As herein used, thematerial will be referred to generically as hide, which is constitutedby the outer covering of the animal, i.e. the lamb, and includes theleather or skin 30 and the wool 32 thereon. The protective cover isconstructed with the leather or skin disposed outwardly, and the woolinwardly. It is applied to the joint, i.e. the elbow, (FIG. 6) byfitting the legs 18 of the U-shaped piece 14 against the fore arm 34,and the second piece 16, at the end fitted against the upper arm 36, theelbow proper being indicated at 38. After the cover is thus fitted tothe elbow, the straps 28 of the securing means are flapped or fitteddown against the backing strips 26 and are securely held thereby, asnoted above. In this step, the top edges of the legs 18 of the U-shapedfirst piece, are folded around the fore arm, or partially so, accordingto the various dimensions involved, and the extent to which the wearermanipulates the elements. In its position as thus applied, the cover isgenerally "L" shape, forming in effect two openings disposedtransversely relative to each other, receiving the fore arm and theupper arm, themselves generally transverse to each other, and it isthereby securely held in place on the elbow. The straps 28 are ofsubstantial length, and can overlap the backing strips a greater orlesser amount, thereby providing a wide range of adjustability fordifferent size areas.

The protective cover may be of any size desired, both as to size ofperson, and the manner in which it is to be fitted on the elbow. Sincethe wool is positioned inwardly, it engages the skin of the wearer andprovides a cushion for the elbow, and the arm. For example the wool maybe of a thickness of about 3/4 of an inch, i.e. inwardly from the skinor leather and this great depth obviously provides great comfort to thewearer. The leather being on the outside, absorbs the abrasive action inengaging the bed or chair, this arrangement providing great comfort tothe wearer, and long life to the device, the leather being highly wearresistant.

Wool has an added advantage in the comfort of the wearer, in that it isnot only warm in the winter time, but is actually cool in the summer,the wool absorbing the perspiration from the wearer and enabling air topass through the strands of the wool to produce a cooling effect.

The skin of the hide is very soft and pliable. It is tanned toaccomplish that end, and it thereby adapts itself well to the shape andsize of the patient's limb joint. Also, for example, the cover may notbe put on exactly straight or symmetrically, but will nevertheless adaptitself well to the joint because of its pliability. Furthermore, as thearm is bent or flexed, the cover adapts itself to such movements,shifting according to the positioning or movements of the limb members.Moreover, the softness and pliability of the leather facilitatesapplying the device in position. For example, a semi-invalid may find itdifficult to actually apply the cover and move the securing strips downinto securing position, but the pliability of the leather makes it easyto shape it to the arm and in this way facilitates putting the securingstrips down into securing position.

Different forms of tanning the leather may be utilized, selectively,such as the gluteraldehyde process, or chrome tanning. Gluteraldehydetanning imparts a very desirable characteristic--washability. It can bedried in a dryer for longer time than regular lambswool.

A further advantage of the device is that wool, in its naturalcondition, greatly resists combustion.

.Iadd.The construction of the protective cover renders it especiallyadaptable to either the elbow or the heel, particularly in that the legs18 of the U shape piece 14 have substantial length, in directionperpendicular to the bight 20, relative to the dimension between thelegs, so that the legs, and the piece 16, in that direction, providesubstantial coverage of corresponding member of the limb of the wearer.Similarly, the legs 18 have a substantial second length in directionparallel with the bight 20, so that the legs 18 provide substantialcoverage in that direction, along the respective member of the limb. Ineach case, the elements of the protective cover reach a substantialdistance along the length of the limb member, as well as a substantialextent around it, and in both cases all parts of the cover areeffectively held by the securing means at one location, that is, thesecuring elements 26, 28 across the legs 18. Additionally, the parts ofthe cover accommodate the limb members in different relative angularpositions of the limb members.

For convenience in identification of the various elements of theprotective cover, and considering a feature implicit in the originaldisclosure, the lambskin may be referred to as a fleece, this being usedas a generic term herein, having a base corresponding to the leather andfibers corresponding to the wool on the leather.

The design and construction as described above is well adapted to theuse of materials other than lambskin, such as synthetic materials, inwhich a fabric is used as a base, corresponding to the leather, andsynthetic fibers or filaments thereon corresponding to the wool..Iaddend.

I claim:
 1. A protective cover adapted to be applied to a human limbjoint such as the elbow or the heel, the limb having members directedgenerally transversely relative to each other, and the cover when soapplied to the limb joint having relationship thereto as set outhereinbelow, the protective cover comprising,a natural hide composed ofa leather layer and a wool layer thereon, including a first elongatedpiece and a second piece, said first piece having opposite,substantially parallel, longitudinal marginal edges and oppositeterminal edges and being of generally U-shape form about a longitudinalaxis, forming parallel leg portions of substantial length along saidaxis, and of substantial width transverse thereto, the legs therebybeing of great area, said first piece defining opposite open ends boundby said marginal edges, said second piece being positioned transverselyacross one of said open ends of the first piece and secured theretocontinuously around the marginal edge of the U-shape of the first piece,the pieces being positioned with the leather layers disposed outwardlyand the wool layers disposed inwardly, and the layers extendingthroughout the areas of the respective pieces, said leg portions beingadapted to be fitted to opposite sides of the limb, and said secondpiece being adapted to engage the corresponding surface of an adjacentlimb member, said second piece and the adjacent elements of said legportions effectively surrounding one of the limb members and forming anopening through which that limb member extends, and the leg portions ofsaid first piece effectively surrounding the other of the limb membersand forming an opening through which that limb member extends, and thecover effectively enclosing the portion of the limb between theopenings, and releasable securing means including a plurality of strapsfixedly secured to the outer surface of one of said leg portions at aposition remote, in axial direction, from said second piece, each strapextending from the terminal edge of said one leg portion to the terminaledge of the opposite of said leg portions when in securing position, andbeing releasably secured to the outer surface of said opposite legportion whereby, the securing means being operable for effecting thesurrounding condition of the leg portions relative to the respectivelimb member, and also operable for effecting the surrounding conditionof the leg portions and the second piece together relative to therespective limb member, said first piece and said second piececonstituting the entire cover, except for the securing means, andthereby extending throughout the area of the protective cover, theleather layer being exposed, except for the location of the securingmeans, throughout its area and devoid of any other materials, andthereby forming the only surface that engages other objects in thewearing of the protective cover, and the wool being exposed throughoutits area and devoid of any other materials, and thereby forming the onlysurface that engages the limb of the wearer.
 2. A protective coveraccording to claim 1 wherein, the leather is of a gluteraldehyde-tannedcondition. .Iadd.
 3. A protective cover adapted to be applied to a humanlimb joint such as the elbow or the heel, the limb having membersdirected generally transversely relative to each other, comprising,afleece incorporating a base and fibers thereon, and including a firstpiece and a second piece, originally independent of and separate fromeach other, the first piece being of U shape formation, and including apair of parallel legs and a bight interconnecting the legs, the legsbeing thereby spaced apart and the first piece defining a first open endand a second open end, and having a marginal edge of U shape at eachend, said legs extending circumferentially at least a portion of one ofthe members of the wearer's limb, the second piece being positionedtransversely across the space between the legs at said first end andsecured to the first piece at the corresponding marginal edge of thelatter, the fleece being oriented with the fibers directed inwardly toengage the wearer's limb, and the base directed outwardly, andreleasable securing means on the first piece including interconnectableelements on respective ones of the legs thereof, certain of saidelements extending over and across said space when the elements arerespectively interconnected, said first and second pieces constituting,except for said securing means, the entire protective cover, andconstituting the entire portions engagable with the wearer's limb, andthe entire portions having exterior surfaces engaging external objectswhich the wearer's limb engages, the fibers being distributed throughoutthe area of the base. .Iaddend. .Iadd.
 4. A protective cover accordingto claim 3 wherein, said legs of the first piece are of substantiallength in direction perpendicular to said bight and thereby capable ofextending a substantial distance around the wearer's limb, andthesecuring means includes elements readily manipulatable by one hand, andput in securing position by pressing them together in directiontransverse to the direction of the tendency to pull apart and releasableby pulling them in direction opposite the pressing direction. .Iaddend..Iadd.
 5. A protective cover according to claim 4 wherein,said firstpiece is of substantial length in direction parallel with said bight,said securing means is positioned in spaced relation to said first endand thereby to said second piece, the second piece and the portions ofthe legs of the first piece next adjacent the second piece, are free ofsecuring means, and said second piece and those portions of the legsdefine an opening surrounding and accommodating the other member of thelimb. .Iaddend. .Iadd.6. A protective cover according to claim 3wherein, the second piece covers the entire area between the legs of thefirst piece, and the two pieces terminate upwardly at a positionadjacent each other. .Iaddend. .Iadd.7. A protective cover according toclaim 6 wherein, the pieces are secured together by stitching the basesof the pieces together. .Iaddend. .Iadd.8. A protective cover accordingto claim 7 wherein, the stitching extends entirely around the U shapelinearly throughout the legs and the bight therebetween. .Iaddend.